


Steven and Goliath

by Markuse88



Series: Markuse88 Inktober 2019 [19]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Domestic McDanno, Established Relationship, Established Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams, Family Feels, I'm not nice to Rachel, M/M, Scheming Rachel, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25838719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Markuse88/pseuds/Markuse88
Summary: Steve's been waiting on Danny to get back for a week. He didn't expect their reunion to involve Danny Middle-Naming him, loudly, in the middle of HQ. Now Steve has to face Danny's ire over an accident that he is, if he's honest, partially responsible for. However, things aren't exactly what they seem. As Steve explains the two of them acknowledge that someone close to them isn't as thrilled about their relationship as they appeared.(Uhg why are Summaries so hard?1 Seriously the fic is so much better!)
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Markuse88 Inktober 2019 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1501292
Comments: 14
Kudos: 175





	Steven and Goliath

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is like SUUUUUPER late. It's for the 2019 Inktober prompt list. The prompt is 19 - Sling. This is self-edited so all mistakes are mine. Beta-read for content by the amazing Cowandcalf. I would love to hear your thoughts and I hope you enjoy. Also please feel free to offer suggestions for tags as I tend to come up blank.
> 
> Canon divergent notes at the end.

“STEVEN JACK MCGARRETT!” Danny’s voice echoed off the walls of HQ. The _tone_ made Steve’s spine stiffen and his stomach plummet. That was not a good tone. Getting yelled at by Danny wasn’t a rare occurrence, but while Danny claimed he had faces, Danny had _tones_. Steve could gauge how much trouble he was in/how frustrated Danny was based more on the tones than the words Danny used.

There was the standard, _‘You’re an animal and I can’t believe you just did that_ , which was reserved for when he did something _reckless_ in the field.

Then there was, _‘I love you and I’m worried about you because you’re reckless’_ , that Danny used _after_ the field. Usually when they were alone.

Both of those tones, and the myriad of others Danny had, Steve could handle and usually had a defense for. This tone however was different and, as Danny’s distant footfalls grew closer, Steve felt sweat break out at his hairline.

This was, ‘ _My boyfriend has done something incredibly stupid and I am actually angry with him,_ ’ Steve had only been on the receiving end of this tone once, early in their relationship, and the incident that caused it nearly broke their fledgling romance. In his defense, he hadn’t known that Grace was using Danny’s phone when he sent the pictures. She hadn’t opened them, thankfully, otherwise, Steve was pretty sure he would be dead.

“Ooooh, full first name _and_ middle naming. Joons get popcorn. This is gonna be epic.” Tani’s gleeful words yanked Steve out of his morose thoughts and his eyes snapped to her. She was standing with Junior near the young SEAL’s office door.

Before he could even think about forming a response Junior, bless his heart, grabbed Tani by the arm and pulled her into his office; closing the door and drawing the blinds.

Junior was a gift and Steve was gonna make him a steak if he survived this. Steve hurriedly wracked his brain, trying to figure out what he could have possibly done that had set Danny off. He hadn’t even seen Danno in a week, the man in question had flown back to Jersey to take part in an appeal trial of a homicide he had formally worked on.

As Danny rounded the corner into the bullpen though, his face set in an expression that put Steve in mind of an enraged bear, all thoughts fled. Steve could only brace himself and prepare to throw himself on his sword as Danny stomped into his office.

Without a word, Danny slammed a wadded up mass of leather onto the desk between them. Confusion tinged Steve’s worry. He knew what the object was but he didn’t understand why Danny had it or how it related to Danny’s anger.

“What, Steven, is this?” Danny asked, voice falsely curious.

“It’s a leather sling, like from David and Goliath, I made it with my dad when I was a kid.” Steve answered slowly, carefully pulling the sling to him and untangling it.

“Good. Now, can you tell me _why_ you gave it to Charlie? You know how Rachel feels about him having even toy weapons, much less something like this that can cause actual damage. Which in this case was an apparently antique vase Stan gave her for their anniversary. When did you even give him that thing?” Danny had reached the pacing and hand flailing portion of his rant and Steve spared a moment to be amused by the spectacle before succumbing to confusion.

“Ok…let me start by saying that I didn’t _give_ this to Charlie. I watched him on Tuesday, after school, and he found it while I was cleaning out the basement. We played with it and he must have taken it home by accident.” Steve chose his words carefully. Insinuating that Charlie _stole_ the sling in any way might make Danny angrier. Besides he was sure that Charlie would never do something like that.

Danny stopped pacing and dropped into the seat opposite him, looking as confused as Steve felt.

“Explain. From the top.” Danny intoned and Steve nodded before launching into his story.

“Rachael called me just after school let out on Tuesday. She asked me to watch Charlie for a few hours. She had some sort of errand to run, Stan was still at work, and Grace had a school thing. I took some time off this week to work on the house so of course, I said yes. Charlie wanted to help so we were going through the boxes and he found this…”

###

“Uncle Steve, what’s this?” Charlie’s question had Steve looking up from a box full of slightly mildewed yearbooks and baby clothes. It seemed neither his Dad nor Doris had any sense of organization.

“That, champ, is a sling I made with my dad back in the day. I’m surprised he kept it.” Steve replied, moving to Charlie’s side.

“What’s a sling?” Charlie asked, inspecting the braided leather.

“It’s kind of like a slingshot but instead of a rubber band, you put a stone in the pouch and swing it around by the ends. Then you let one end go and the stone goes flying.” Steve explained, pointing out the parts of the sling.

“Can you show me how?” Charlie asked, bright-eyed and enthusiastic.

Steve was hesitant to say yes. He knew very well about Rachael’s thoughts on toy weapons, a rule which Danny went along with largely to make his ex-feel better. But looking at Charlie’s earnest and hopeful face Steve felt his resolve crumble. Surely it would be ok to show Charlie how to use it, maybe let him take a few tries with it. After all, he wasn’t _giving_ it to him.

“Yeah…sure I can. Let’s head out to the beach.” Steve offered, standing up from where he was squatting next to the boy and offering him a hand up.

Charlie whooped in delight as he took Steve’s hand and shot to his feet. Charlie’s joy was infectious so instead of letting the boy dash upstairs Steve scooped him up around his skinny waist and lay him over his shoulder. Charlie squealed in obvious delight and Steve gave him a couple gentle pats on his bottom as he headed upstairs.

Steve didn’t let the boy down until they were out on the lanai.

“Ok, you head down to the beach, _not too close to the water_ , and look for some stones. Smooth and about the size of a golf ball. I’ll get some targets and meet you down there.” Steve ordered playfully and Charlie gave a messy and exaggerated salute, which he obviously learned from his father, before taking off to follow his orders. Steve watched him for a second, swinging the sling around his head as he ran, before turning to the recycling bin. Danny might kill him if he found out but he trusted Charlie to stay a safe distance from the surf.

Steve grabbed an armload of empty energy drink cans, courtesy of a habit he knew Junior was trying to keep from him, before he turned and headed to find Charlie. On his way, he snagged the plywood he set the grill on when he cooked out closer to the beach and drug it with him.

Steve found Charlie standing by the Adirondack chairs set up near the water. His shirt pulled up into a pouch obviously full of stones. Dropping the cans into one of the chairs and propping the wood up Steve once more squatted down to inspect Charlies' haul.

“Will this work Uncle Steve?” Charlie asked hopefully. Steve smiled as he inspected the rocks.

“These are perfect kiddo.” Steve replied, piling the rocks next to the cans. Feeling a bit mischievous Steve reached out before Charlie’s now empty shirt could fall and gently dug his fingertips into the soft skin of Charlie’s stomach. Charlie howled with laughter, face screwed up in a smile with his eyes squeezed shut, as he tried to shimmy away from Steve. Steve let him go and while the boy huffed quietly and dusted sand off his shirt he started setting up the targets.

Steve drug the chairs around until they were facing each other and laid the wood across the armrests before lining up the cans a few inches apart. That done he motioned to Charlie and the pair moved roughly ten feet away.

“Ok stand over there, I don’t want to risk hitting you.” Steve motioned off to an area some five feet back and to the right of him, near where the grass met sand. Charlie was quick to comply, handing Steve the sling before moving, and Steve couldn’t help but smile as the boy rocked from heel to toe as he watched him.

Steve tested the leather only just then realizing that the sling might not be in shape after so many years. Thankfully though the braiding was still intact, if a bit rough, and the connections to the pouch were sturdy. Steve fit a stone into the pouch and slipped his finger through the loop as his dad had shown him. Gripping the knot near the end of the other strand he double-checked Charlie’s position before focusing on the cans.

Swinging the sling in a figure-eight pattern to gain speed before letting go of the knotted end and whipping the stone toward the cans. Steve was glad to see the years between his first attempts and now hadn’t dulled his aim. The stone collided with and knocked over the can he had been aiming at with a metallic thwunk.

The grin of success that broke over his face quickly evolved into a full-blown smile as Charlie whooped and ran over to hug him ‘round the waist.

“That was awesome Uncle Steve! Do it again!” Charlie egged on and despite the work that was left to do at the house Steve had to comply. Once Charlie was back in his safe spot Steve loaded up another stone and a moment later another can lay on the ground.

“Can I try?” Charlie asked after congratulating Steve after knocking over a fourth can. Despite both his own and Charlies' enthusiasm Steve hesitated for a moment, worried that it might be skirting the line. However, after a moment he decided to go for it. If need be he would talk to Rachel and take her ire in place of Danny.

“Of course little man.” Steve showed Charlie how to hold and swing the sling.

“Remember when we were all playing baseball and Danno taught you how to catch and hit?” Steve asked and Charlie nodded excitedly.

“Keep your eye on the ball!” Charlie replied happily.

“Exactly. This is a lot like that. Keep your eye on the can you want to hit and when the sling gets in line with it let go of the knot.” Steve explained and Charlie nodded seriously.

Steve walked him through a few swings with the empty sling, making sure the boy wouldn’t hurt himself, before loading one of the smaller stones into the pouch and stepping back to give him his shot.

Like Steve suspected, Charlie didn’t succeed on his first try. Or his second or third. However, instead of getting frustrated Charlie kept up and on his sixth attempt managed to send a can flying.

“I did it, Uncle Steve! I did it!” Charlie hollered, arms thrown up in triumph. Pride swelled in Steve’s chest and he swept Charlie up into a hug.

“You sure did my man.” Steve patted the boy on his back, swinging him around playfully.

Steve gave up any hope of more work in the basement and the pair spent the evening playing outside. Charlie was a fast study with the sling and was soon hitting more cans than he missed. Knowing from experience that it could make the shoulder sore Steve made sure to moderate how long Charlie worked with it and stopped him after a bit. The rest of the time was spent combing the beach for shells and other ocean oddities and a game of hide and seek that Steve’s larger body made him woefully bad at in the sparsely covered back yard.

By the time Rachel picked Charlie up both of them were exhausted but happy.

“I had a lot of fun today Uncle Steve, Love you.” Charlie told him with a hug.

“Love you too, little man.” Steve replied, pressing a kiss to the crown of Charlies’ head before sending him out the door to his mother.

###

“That was it. He kept the sling around his neck the rest of the time and I wasn’t in the room when he was loading up his backpack. He probably shoved it in there without thinking about it. I didn’t even notice it was missing until right now. I can call Rachel right now and explain, apologize. I’ll even pay to replace the vase.” Steve offered as he reached for the desk phone, his cell was charging.

Steve was halfway through dialing Rachel’s number when Danny reached over and pushed the plunger down, cutting Steve off.

Steve looked up at Danny to find the man looking at him with a slightly confused expression.

“You watched him Tuesday, you absolutely sure about that?” Danny asked him and it was Steve’s turn to feel confused. Hanging up the phone he sat back in his chair, hands clasped over his stomach.

“Of course I am Danny. I know I’ve had some head trauma but I know my days of the week. Why?” Steve asked in returned but Danny didn’t answer. Instead, his confused expression deepened and he pulled his phone out of his pocket and shot off a quick text.

“Danny, what’s going on?” Steve’s question was ignored as Danny’s text was answered.

“Ok…So that was Grace. Rachel didn’t tell me you had watched Charlie, just that you had given that sling. She also didn’t tell me when he broke the vase. I assumed it was last night. She didn’t call me until after I sent out my “on my way home” text from the airport this morning. Like I always do. But that’s not the case. He broke it Wednesday.” Danny replied, confusion and annoyance warring on his face.

“Let me get this straight,” Steve leaned forward, arms on the desk, “Charlie breaks this vase on Wednesday and instead of calling you right away, or butting in on your daily calls to the kids, she waits to call you at the ass crack of dawn; just before you’re about to get on a ten-plus hour flight. Why the hell would she do that? Furthermore, why didn’t she just call me? She has all my numbers.” Steve’s confusion was starting to give way to upset and suspicion.

Danny hadn’t said anything to him but as Steve looked back over the last several months between telling Rachel and Stan about their relationship and now Steve saw some differences.

Before, Danny and Rachel had developed a cordial relationship, bordering on friends, and talked a few times a week. Mostly about the kids but not always. Since they’d been together those calls had become less frequent and much shorter. Even when they had talked Tuesday about Charlie she had seemed…reluctant…about it. At the time Steve had chalked it up to not wanting to inconvenience him. But what if it had been something else.

Steve thought back even further, back to the night he and Danny had sat down with Stan and Rachel. It was a couple weeks after quarantine and the subsequent attempt on Danny’s life. Danny had told him about his hallucination/dream, which led to the two of them _finally_ talking about the thing that had been brewing between them for the better part of a decade. After they had decided to make a serious go of it they had decided to tell Rachel and Stan. Danny hadn’t been too keen on the idea but Steve had convinced him to do it, if only because the kids would likely be spending more time at his place.

Steve thought the whole thing had gone great. Rachel and Stan had been surprised at first but it had quickly given way to enthusiasm and celebration. The pair had congratulated them heartily, Rachel insisting on them staying for dinner while Stan broke out some Scotch for the three of them, Rachel preferring red wine. It had been a pretty great night. Looking at it now though Steve had to wonder.

Had Stan seemed a little…relieved to hear that they were together? Had Rachel’s smile been a bit forced, a bit distant?

“Steve…STEVE!” Danny’s voice snapped Steve out of his thoughts and he focused back on the present.

“Where the hell were you just now?” Danny asked, annoyed glare in place. Steve tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment before he answered.

“Has Rachel seemed...off to you since we told them about our relationship?” Steve asked before offering up the thoughts that had occurred to him. As he spoke he realized that while Danny looked thoughtful he didn’t appear surprised.

“Honestly…I’ve been thinking that off and on for a while. I tried not to dwell on it because we were finally in a good place after sniping at each other for so fucking long. But I dunno _why_ it would be a problem. Rachel knew I batted for both teams, I never hid that from her.” Danny replied and Steve felt like ice had dropped into his gut as a realization formed in his mind.

“What it…what if it’s not so much that we're two guys but that we’re…us…maybe she thinks she missed her chance.” Steve spoke quietly, not meeting Danny’s eyes. Rachel and Danny had a complicated history. From their marriage to their affair. Rachel and Stan had gone through a rough patch a few years back and it had looked like divorce was on the horizon. The pair pulled through though but now Steve had to wonder if maybe Rachel was regretting that.

Danny’s hand wrapping around one of his had Steve looking up, meeting Danny’s soft eyes and small smile.

“Rachel _did_ miss her chance…right about the time she confessed to lying to me about Charlie. The two of us being together just put even _more_ nails in that coffin. So if she thinks that pettily trying to drive a wedge between us is gonna get me back she’s sorely mistaken.” Danny’s words buoyed his spirits and Steve smiled.

“Love you Danno.” Was all Steve could think to say, compounding his words by bringing Danny’s hand up to kiss his knuckles. Danny’s smile widened and he tugged on Steve’s hand. Steve rose from his chair and went willingly as Danny led him over to the plush leather sofa. Steve sat as Danny gently pushed at his lower back. Bemusement turned to delight as Danny lay down, head resting on Steve’s thigh, with a groan.

“ _We_ will deal with Rachel, together, later. After I’ve had some sleep and something to eat,” Danny smiled up at him as he stretched out on the couch, “For now though why don’t you tell me why you were digging around in the basement?”

Steve leaned his head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, wondering if he should tell Danny the truth. Danny probably wouldn’t figure it out but he would bug Steve about it if he tried to deflect.

“I was cleaning up, going through to see what all I could get rid of. Was trying to make space.” Steve hedged, hoping that Danny wouldn’t pry further. Hoping to distract the other man Steve let his hand wander over Danny’s chest and stomach, scratching over the soft t-shirt that Danny wore. Danny however wasn’t one to be dissuaded. After a few moments of obviously enjoying Steve’s attention, he spoke up again.

“Making space for what babe? You don’t have much in the way of clutter and Junior’s not exactly a hoarder.” Danny was like a dog with a bone and Steve let out a sigh. This wasn’t how he wanted to do this. Then again though nothing about his and Danny’s relationship was standard. Steve looked down and waited until Danny met his eyes before talking.

“I was making room for _you_ Danno. You and the kids. I want you to move in with me.” Steve did his best to be earnest without sounding desperate. He didn’t want Danny to think he was begging or trying to manipulate him.

Danny though smiled up at him with a wide, happy grin.

“Babe…I would _love_ to move in with you…and the kids would love it too. But what about Junior? I know you like having a houseful but I know I’m a lot to take…the kids can be too.” Both Danny’s happiness and worry were sincere and Steve just smiled down at his lover.

“Junior is moving out in a few weeks Danno. A friend of his from the SEAL’s contract is up and they're coming to the island for a job. He’s Looking for a roommate and asked Junior. I think he’s probably looking for a bit more privacy for dating…I think he’s got his eye on someone.” Steve explained with a smile of his own.

“Really? Is it anyone we know?” Danny asked with faux curiosity. It was plain as day who Junior might be thinking of wooing.

“I guess we’ll find out….But what do you say? You willing to be my new roommate?” Steve asked and fought the urge to hold his breath. Instead of words though Danny surprised him by reaching a hand up to the back of his head and pulling him down for a kiss. It was an awkward angle and Danny had to lean up to make it work but Steve thought it might be the best kiss they had shared to date.

“If you think you can handle having Charlie and Grace in every aspect of your day to day life then ya…I’m in babe.” Steve's heart leaped at Danny’s agreement. He was _so_ ready to have Charlie and Grace in his home, in _their_ home. In his life. He already had a lot of plans concerning redecorating his and Mary’s old rooms for the kids. He wanted them to be involved in the process, wanted them to feel at home, and have spaces of their own.

“Danno…that sounds _perfect_.” Steve replied quietly, warmth filling his chest as Danny looked up at him, happiness and awe on his face.

“Yea…yea babe…it really does.” Danny replied before pulling him down for another kiss.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This MIGHT be expanded later. Add a few details that I overlooked. That's not definite though. However, I have a tentative sequel in mind. 
> 
> I really hope you all enjoyed it and I would LOVE to hear your thoughts. Find me at my Tumblr https://mcdannoangelwolf.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> C.D Notes.  
> Obviously Rachel and Stan never divorced. They managed to stay together but, as Steve infers things might not be perfect. Everything else is canon up until 8x10. After that its skews Danny and Steve get together Etc.


End file.
